A group of creative industries professionals, tutors and students gathered together recently to help Chesterfield College devise a plan of how best to develop and support creative skills and jobs in Derbyshire.

   

During the roundtable discussion, which was part of the college’s Creativity Pays campaign, the group talked about how they could work together as a community to develop skills and create collaboration opportunities to help build the sector locally. They also explored ways to improve the perception of careers in the creative industries.

A growing sector

Despite the fact the creative industries sector has been badly hit by the COVID-19 crisis, it is well placed to recover quickly and support the recovery of the local economy. The sector creates 6,400 jobs across the local area and has a projected growth of 2.4% over the next 5 years. It also contributes to the wellbeing of local residents.

Creative professionals working in media production, photography, journalism, the music industry, the community sector, and students of performing arts, were all passionate that the forum was a great start to raise the profile of what they bring to the town.

The proposals

The college has set out proposals to:

• Promote the value of the creative industries with stakeholders driving local economic investment.
• Establish regular networking events and ways to reach out to the community.
• Develop a system to allow the creative sector to collaborate on projects with each other and students. This will provide meaningful industry experience for students and enhance opportunities for creatives.

In the future, the college will also explore ways to develop a schools program to improve creative careers advice, knowledge and inspiration for young people.

Expanding the network of creatives

David Malone, deputy principal of Chesterfield College said:

“This event has been a fantastic way to bring a handful of local creatives together to formulate plans of how the college can use its expertise and long-established creative arts facilities to support the growth of this very important sector. We also want to play a part in bringing the benefits of creativity to the community. I am excited that there is such a drive to collaborate and that we have so many talented and experienced professionals in our area to work with. The next stages are to ensure the importance of the creative sector is recognised at a strategic local level and to expand the network of creatives we work with.”

Join the Creativity Pays group

Join the Creativity Pays group and register for future networking events here.

 

The Creativity Pays Roundtable

A huge thank you to everyone who took part in the first Creativity Pays event. The insight into each of the participant’s experiences and opinions was really interesting. Find out more about what they had to say below:

DM – David Malone, deputy principal and performing arts specialist, Chesterfield College    

HB – Hannah Bowdler, relationship fundraiser, Junction Arts        

PB – Phil Bramley, editor, Derbyshire Times              

CR – Connor Revill, performing srts student at Chesterfield College          

AC – Albert Cash, performing srts student at Chesterfield College             

TB – Tom Bell filmmaker & co-founder of Defeye            

MP – Matthew Pritchard, filmmaker & co-founder of Defeye

NS – Niki Stevenson, owner of Real Time Live    

MT – Matthew Taylor, freelance photographer and lecturer at Chesterfield College

Why are creative skills so important in our local area?

DM- “We know the sector creates thousands of jobs and is set to grow over the next few years. We need to make sure we are developing the skills needed to meet demand and to give local people and businesses the opportunity to grow as part of it. What I am astounded by is if you did bios of just the people in this room showing how you started out and where you are now you can see where home grown talent which has come through our education system and is now feeding into the economy to give something back.

HB – “As a charity we work with communities in ways they want us to.  We take time to listen to their needs and how they feel about their area. Our most popular event is the Bolsover Lantern Parade which will have been going for 28 years this year. Although it was heart breaking we couldn’t do it in the same way last year, we still had 500 people participating from their homes which is phenomenal. This shows how empowering creativity can be to a person and taking it to them to allow them to experience it.”

What are the biggest barriers to developing the creative sector in Chesterfield?

MP – “Historically the biggest challenges have been lack of forums like this. Creative industries in Chesterfield have existed in isolation. When the college opened West Studios it offered a creative hub in the town which was linked to the college. It linked students to employers and to other businesses and that was a big change. It started to create a community feel and the more we can do things like that and discussions like this, it will overcome some of those barriers.”

NS – “If you are going to come into creative industries and expect it to sustain your life you have to know how to sell yourself. There are so many artists who make a tremendous living who aren’t mainstream names but they sell themselves. I don’t get many messages from students asking for opportunities to build their skills with us which makes me think although education is wonderful, how prepared are students for the real world? Networking took me on the wonderful time I have had, and on to buy this building. I don’t believe creatives always have a good enough business understanding of what is needed to sell their skills and pay the bills.”

AC – “My course has made me a better singer and actor but in essence that hasn’t made me more qualified. From the start students need to be told that they need to build themselves as a product. They need to come in with a professional mind set and that needs to be maintained. If we want to get rid of the connotations that this is a joke industry and if we want to build a more professional environment we should push that professional approach.”

PB – “How do we change the perception that creative industries has less of a value than engineering, for example? Maybe it is through talking about jobs and revenue and how much of a value it provides to a local economy.”

What can we do as a community to support people to develop the skills the industry needs?

HB- Our creative scene is thriving because people want it to be here. I think it is bringing the idea that you can be in the creative industries at any level, anyone can do it – not just the elite. We need to show people that they are creative naturally every day.”

PB – “It is about having those conversations about the unquantifiable things that creative industries bring – the feel good factor that make a huge difference in the quality of people’s lives.”

TB- “There needs to be events and activities where projects come together and we can celebrate the creativity we have. Whether that is festivals in different venues or in the town centre, it would drive people’s understanding of the creative industries that exist in the town. If what they see is made by local people, it would drive it into people’s minds.”

AC – “For us, opening our eyes to people and companies in the industry is vital. Having the opportunity to meet people from the industry and learn from them is a step forward in the right direction for those who are passionate about working in it in the future.”

NS – To protect yourself and your longevity as a creative you need to protect your identity about how you are portrayed and publicised. Avenues to get into the music industry, for example, have shrunk so it is so important to establish who you are and what you offer. It would be really nice to use local people to help us do recordings and videos to get people noticed.

How can we work together to develop and support creative industries in Chesterfield?

DM – “We want longevity – we want to see employers working with students over a long period of time. It will help them build contacts and have those industry mentors. Also, we work with various bodies and organisations whose job it is to drive skills and employment and it is true that creative industries isn’t at the top of the agenda but I think we need to work harder to get it there.”

MT – “This is interesting because some people have a perception that students won’t make a living out of a photography course. That is because they don’t see it. We have to ask if our photography students are prepared for their industry. They can take good pictures but do they understand storytelling and can they write a caption? If we can tap into a cycle where they can work with local companies and prepare themselves for work in the industry, build the contacts and networks and get their work seen, then parents and teachers will see that there is a route for their skills and exactly where they can go with them. Students will also understand what is needed from them. We have to build reciprocal links.”

Industry knowledge is vital

CR – “I have wanted to be an actor since I was 4 years old and I know it is challenging. We need to show students that they need to be the best performer they can be, and give them knowledge of the industry. It is only recently that we’ve started to develop this knowledge and I think we need to introduce it earlier.”

PB- I think we need a formal process of networking and structured framework where we can join students who want the experience with businesses who are struggling with under staffing. There is some perfect dovetailing there as long as there is mutual understanding and it isn’t exploitative.

TB – Do you think there is a place for improved careers advice? There is a massive disconnect in what careers advice is telling young people about the routes they can take. Does it tell you what is happening in your local area? No it doesn’t. Is there a place to improve that from a local authority level or is it bigger than that?

DM – We need to be telling young people what the reality of careers are and what the opportunities are. We need to think differently about reaching students at that stage. Maybe it comes back to inviting them to a hub where they can meet people working in the industry to hear their story of building real careers. West Studios is well placed to be the hub that brings businesses and students together to support each other.